Quick-change slush nozzle



c.,c. GOOLSBEE 2,519,648 QUICK CHANGE SLUSH NOZZLE Filed Dec. 22, 1947 Aug. 22, 1950 R em M em o MV 0 /N .l m m G r YV M B C Patented Aug. 22, 1950 QUlwK GHAN-GE SLUSH NGZZL'E Charles 0. Goolsbec, Houston, Tex., assignor to ReedRoller Bit Company, Houston, Tex, a'corporation of Texas Application December 22, 1947,, SerialNo. 793,197

6 Claims. .1

This invention relates to improvements in'interchangeable slush nozzles for rotary drill *bits and refers 31110116 particularly to .such an assembly wherein :the nozzle element may :bereadi-ly interchanged without the use .of special tools.

In boring well holes with rotary bits it is the practice to maintain circulation of :a drilling flui'd knovm .to the industry as mud orslush. This fluid is. usually circulated. downwardly through the drill stem, drill bit and out through slush ports in the bit body. The mud is preferably directed .by theslzushpport upon the cutter elements of the :bit to cleanse adhering debris therefrom and to pick up the cuttings. The mud then circulates upwardlythrough the well bore surrounding the bit .and drill stem. The gritty character of the mud .makesxitzdesirable to use slush nozzles of wear resisting material and more recently the practicehas been to provide readily interchangeable slush nozzles.

. Eorzquick change nozzles ithas heretofore been thepraotice :to employ a bushing which is welded in the slush port and the interchangeable nozzle is secured within the bushing by means of a sleeve of relatively soft material, which is welded atzone-end to the periphery of the bushing. The other end. of the sleeve .is castell-ated to permit bending of the castellated portion over the end of thebushing so as to releaseably anchor the nozzle within the bushing. The end of the sleeve which .is welded to the nozzle is bell shaped to provide a seating surface for compressing sealing material between such surface and a comelementary surface formed upon the bushing. While. this assembly has .proven satisfactory in use, from, the standpoint of performance, it is nevertheless desirable to provide an assembly which is equally .efiicientin operation, which may be .morereadily changed, and in which the sleeve is eliminated to reduce the number of requisite parts.

object of this. invention is to provide an improved slush nozzle assembly in which the slush nozzle may be readily changed.

Another object is to provide a slushnozzle assembly wherein the nozzle may be readily changed in the .field without the use of special tools.

A further object is to provide a slush nozzle assembly wherein the nozzle is releaseably secured in operative position by use of 'a snap ring.

Yet another object is to provide a quick change slush nozzle for a drill bit wherein the nozzle is resiliently mounted to-permit breathing thereof due to the pressure differential thereacross.

Other and further objects of the invention will appear as the description proceeds.

In the accompanying drawings which form :a part of the instant specification, are to be read in conjunction therewith, and wherein like reference numerals are used to indicate like parts in thevarious views:

Fig. l is a sectional view through a bit body with parts-broken away, equipped with a slush nozzle assembly embodying this invention and shown in exploded View;

Fig. .2 is an enlarged .irag-mentary view similar to. that shown :in Fig. 1 showing the slush nozzle assembled in operating position; and

Fig. '3 is an end view of the slush nozzle assembly shown inxFigs. l and 2 with the assembly viewed from the-snap :ring end.

Referring to the'drawings in detail, numeral 5 represents a bit body, which in the embodiment shown is a conventional drag type bit. It is to be understood that the invention is equally applicable to use in roller bits and one :or a plurality .of slush nozzle assemblies may be employed with each bit, depending upon the bit requirements.

The bit body is provided with an aperture or port 6 to accommodate the passage of drilling vfluid therethrough. The slush nozzle assemblyis securedin place within aperture 6 and has apart-or bushing 1 which is preferably secured to .the .bit body by a semi-permanent connection such as welding 83. The bushing may be made of hard wear resisting material and has a bore therethrough which receives the slush nozzle 9. The nozzle has a port which preferably has .a wear resisting surface.

The outside diameter of the slush nozzle 9 is such 'thatitfits closely within the narrow diameter portion of the bore through bushing 1 as shown more clearly in Fig. 2 and forms an annular space It with the portion of the bushing having the enlarged diameter bore. In thisembodiment a taperedsection of the bore joins the large and narrow diameter portions thereof. In order to releaseably secure the slush nozzle concentrically within'the bushing and in slidable engagement therewith a means is provided including cooperating parts upon the bushing and nozzle and a seal ring. The parts upon the nozzle include an annular bead H externally surrounding the nozzle. The parts cooperating therewith, upon the bushing, include the interior annular shoulder [2, the tapered portion of the bore through the bushing and seat groove 13 for accommodation-of a'snap ring M. The end ofbushing 7 adjacent groove [3 has a cut-away portion for :receiving the end portions of ring M.

Sealing material It is in the form of an annular web having a tapered portion which substantially fits'the tapered portion of the annular space between the bushing and nozzle. However, this "pontionis not .a perfect fit and it is necessary to force nozzle .9 downwardly to press "the flowable. :sealing .material into this space suffi :ciently to uncover groove 13 in the bushing. Upon assembly of the .devicethe nozzle is "forced downwardly to expose groove 13 and ring I4 is then securedwith'in the groove. The ring is engaged by the portion of the sealing member which resides. 'between the snap ring and bead l'l.

With this arrangement it is apparent that the nozzle is resilientlysecured within bushing 1 with :no metal to metal contact therebetween except in the close fitting portion of the bore. This portion serves more as a guide permitting slight relative slidable movement between the parts in response to pressure differential variations during operation. The cushioning effect of this arrangement substantially eliminates failure of metallic parts due to fatigue as substantially all vibrations and shocks are absorbed in the resilient material. The pressure differential across the assembly wedges the sealing material into the wedge shaped space between the nozzle and bushing to insure a seal and also resist axial movement of the nozzle through the bushing bore.

It is believed apparent that the arrangement is such that nozzle 9 may be quickly and readily interchanged when worn or may be quickly removed to permit replacement of sealing material Is. In order to accomplish this nozzle 9 is forced downwardly in the bushing to relieve to some extent the pressure of the seal material upon ring l4. The extended ends of ring [4 are then forced together to release the ring from groove [3. With the snap ring removed, nozzle '9 readily lifts from position within the bushing and the installation reassembled with a new ring or nozzle secured in place.

It is'to be understood that in some instances it is desirable to provide a bond between the seal ring and the nozzle. When desirable this may be done or the ring may be completely separate therefrom but in any event it is preferable that the ring have an inner periphery of a contour substantially conforming to that portion of the outer periphery of the nozzle which it is to cover.

From the foregoing it will be seen that this invention is one well adapted to attain all of the ends and objects heireinabove set forth together with other advantages which are obvious and which are inherent to the structure.

It will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are of utility and may be employed without reference to other features and subcombinations. This is contemplated by'and is within the scope of the claims.

As many possible embodiments may be made of the invention without departing from the scope thereof, it is to be understood that all matter herein set forth or shown in the accompanyinig drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A quick change slush nozzle assembly adaptable to be secured in a slush port of a rotary bit body, said assembly comprising a bushing with a bore therethrough, a tubular nozzle within the bore closely fitting a portion thereof and providing an annular space between the bushing and nozzle adjacent one end of the bushing, an annulalr bead exteriorl surrounding the nozzle and residing within the annular space, a seal ring covering the bead and filling the space between the bead and the close fitting portion of the nozzle in the bushing bore, and a snap ring releaseably secured within the bushing and .engaging the seal ring to resiliently secure the ring and nozzle within the bushing.

22. In combination a bit body having a slush port and a slush nozzle assembly within the port, said assembly including a bushing with a bore therethrough, a tubular nozzle within the bore closely fitting a portion thereof and providing an annular space between the bushing and nozzle adjacent one end of the bushing, an annular bead exteriorly surrounding the nozzle and residing within the annular space, a seal ring covering the bead and filling the space between the bead and the close fitting portion of the nozzle in the bushing bore, and a snap ring releaseably secured within the bushing and engaging the seal ring to resiliently secure the ring and nozzle within the bushing.

3. A quick change slush nozzle assembly adaptable to be secured in a slush port of a rotary bit body, said assembly comprising a bushing with a bore therethrough, a tubular nozzle within the bore closely fitting a portion thereof and. providing an annular space between the bushing and nozzle adjacent one end of the bushing, said space having an inwardly tapering portion adjacent the portion of. close fit between the nozzle and bushing, a seal ring secured to the-nozzle and filling the tapered portion of the annular space, and a snap ring releaseably secured within the bushing and engaging the seal ring to resiliently secure the nozzle and ring in sealing relation within the bore of the bushing.

l. A quick change slush nozzle assembly adapted to be secured in a slush port of a rotary bit body, said assembly including, a bushing having a bore extending therethrough and having one end of said bore enlarged in diameter, a tubular nozzle of constant external diameter closely fitting the bore and having its exterior spaced from the enlarged portion of said bore whereby an annular space is formed between the nozzle and said enlarged portion of the bore, a resilient seal ring secured to the nozzle and filling the annular space to seal between the nozzle and bushing, and a snap ring releasably secured within the enlarged portion of the bore of the bushing and engaging the seal ring to maintain the nozzle and ring in sealing position within the bore of the bushing.

5. A quick change slush nozzle assembly adapted to be secured in a slush port of a rotary bit body, said assembly including, a bushing having a bore extending therethrough, one end of said bore being enlarged in diameter to form an internal annular seating surface intermediate the ends of the bushing, a tubular nozzle extending through the bore and having its exterior spaced from the wall of the enlarged portion of the bushing bore, whereby an annular space is formed therebetween, a seal ring secured to the nozzle and disposed within the annular space between the nozzle and bushing and having one end engaging the internal seating surface within the bushing, and a retaining ring releasably secured within the bushing and engaging the opposite end of the seal ring to maintain the seal ring and nozzle in position within the bushing.

6. A quick change slush assembly as set forth in claim 5, wherein the seal ring is secured to the nozzle by means of an annular external bead on the nozzle which engages the bore of the seal rin at a point intermediate the ends of said bore.

CHARLES C. GOOLSBEE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,057,763 Mueller et a1. Apr. 1, 1913 2,086,357 Farber July 6, 1937 2,429,782 Versoy Oct. 28, 1947 

